Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala’s romantic pair stormed Bollywood in 1960s.
Rajender Kumar acted in many landmark films in the 60s and successfully performed opposite leading actresses of that age including Meena Kumari, Sadhna, Wahida Rehman, etc. But his performance opposite Vaijayantimala created a distinct impact on the viewers.
Vaijayantimala previously formed a legendary combination with Dilip Kumar. In the film Sangam, she was attached with Rajender Kumar, but Rajender Kumar due to his soft corner for Raj Kapoor he could not express it.Raj Kapoor the airforce and the news relating to his death surprised Rajender Kumar and Vaijayantimala. At the time when they made up their mind of marrying each other Raj Kapoor again returned back and Vaijayantimala married him. Rajender Kumar sacrificed his life for his friends. The viewers were in their tears when Rafi’s song “ki tum naraz na hona” was played when his ashes were immersed by Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala in the holy prayag sangam in Allahabad.
Both of them acted together in the film Suraj where Rajender Kumar was a prince and Vaijayantimala was a princess. It was an action-pact film where the melodious songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan created a great impact on the audience. Songs of Rafi, Lata and Asha including “chehre pe giri zulfen”, “kaise samjhayun”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe”, “baharon phool barsao”, etc, mesmerized the viewers.
Both of them did well in the film Saathi also, where Rajender Kumar became blind. The music was composed by Naushad, and Mukesh and Lata sung very well songs like “mera pyar bhi tu hai” and others. Vaijayantimala gave a spirited performance in the film Zindagi opposite Rajender Kumar. She was not accepted by her father-in-law played by Prithviraj Kapoor, and she struggled hard with her mother to stay separately, without the support of Rajender Kumar. He accepted her at the end of the film and repented for the misunderstanding.
Their other hit films include Aas Ka Panchi, Ganwar, etc., and in all these films the romantic pair got the appreciation of the mass audience. Their films had strong storyline and music and for those reasons should be restored.
Rajender Kumar, Mohammad Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan came saw and conquered.
Mohammad Rafi, the eternal singer had sung more than 150 songs for Jubilee Kumar Rajender Kumar. Superstar Rajender Kumar had a deadly combination with Mohammad Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan. Whenever the three combined together they created history.
In Dil Ek Mandir, Rafi’s song “jahan koi nahi” and “yaad na jaye” were created in two different moods. Both the compositions of Shankar Jaikishan were marvelous. Rafi was as outstanding as Rajender Kumar. The film was released in 1963.
Rajender Kumar became Jubilee Kumar for having all his films doing business of more than 25 weeks between 1963 and 1966. Shankar Jaikishan was the leading composer composing majority of his songs. In the film Ayee Milan Ki Bela, released in 1964, all the songs sung by Rafi and picturized on Rajender Kumar became smash hits like “mai pyar ka diwana”, “aha aye Milan ki bela”, “to bura maan gaye”, “tum khamseen ho nadaan ho”, to name a few. In the same year, Rajender Kumar’s Sangam had a masterpiece of Shankar Jaikishan namely “yeh mera prempatra parkar”. The song became the greatest hit of 1964.
The film Zindagi was also released in 1964. Shankar Jaikishan’s brilliant composition for Rafi namely “pehele mile the sapno me” mesmerized the viewers.
In 1965, Shankar Jaikishan created magic in Rajender Kumar’s film Aarzoo. All the songs of Rafi touched the souls of the audience including “chalke teri ankhon se”, “aji humse bachkar kahan jayiyega”, “ai phoolon ki raani”, “aye nargise mastana”, to name a few. The exotic locations of Kashmir, the brilliant costumes of Rajender Kumar and Sadhna, elegant singing of Rafi and brilliance of Shankar Jaikishan created magic.
The deadly combination continued in the film Suraj in 1966. All the songs of Rafi became smash hits like “baharon phool barsao”, “gustaqi maaf”, “kaise samjhaun”, “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe”, to name a few. Rafi was brilliant in the duet songs as well where Suman Kalyanpur complimented Rafi.
In 1967 and 1968, Rajender Kumar’s films Aman and Jhuk Gaya Aasman became hit due to the brilliant music of Shankar Jaikishan. Rafi’s songs in these films like “surahidar garden”, “aaj ki raat”, “o priya”, “saccha hai agar pyar mera sanam”, “kahan chal diye” stormed bollywood.
Shankar Jaikishan composed music in the other films of Rajender Kumar as well including Aas Ka Panchi, where the title song was sung by Subir Sen, Dharti; where Rafi’s song “khuda bhi aaman se” became smash hit, etc. Rafi contributed in other films Rajender Kumar also where Shankar Jaikishan composed music including Shatranj. The songs and the films should be regularly telecast in the private channels to reach the excellent music to the younger generations.
A big section of music lovers agree that had Jaikishan not died in 1971, Rafi’s dominance in bollywood music not suffered at all. In fact SJ’s tunes were brilliant and were specifically catered towards the likings of common mass. They were not that technical which could not reach the audience. Besides SJ gave tunes in around 10 films per years all along the 50s and 60s, the era when Rafi was unbeatable. RD Burman’s domination in the 70s would have got very strong resistence had Jaikishan survived few years more. The immortal lyrics of Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri also ended with the sad expiry of Jaikishan in 1971.
In the case of Naushad, his gharana was so classically oriented, that his composition for an actor had changed the destiny of the actor. Although Naushad and Rafi’s combination was associated mainly with respect to Tragedy King Dilip Kumar, he preserved a huge treasure of music for Rajender Kumar as well.
Mere Mehboob, stands out as probably one of the greatest creations of Naushad ever in the history of bollywood music. All the songs of Rafi for Rajender Kumar, including “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam“, “tumse izhaar-e-haal kar baithe“, “ai husn zara jag tujhe ishq jagaye” had revealed the royal elite culture of Aligarh and Lucknow in the form of shayri and ghazals. Rajender Kumar and Sadhna were at their best in the film.
Naushad and Rafi were sublime in Rajender Kumar’s film Palki. The song “dil-e-betaab ko sine se lagana hoga” shows the class of Naushad. Although Naushad utilized Rafi to perfection in Rajender Kumar’s Ganwar, he used Mukesh in major songs of the film Saathi due to pressure of the producer and director.
Rafi and Rajender Kumar were blessed with the immortal creations of Shankar Jaikishan and Naushad in the 60s and the films and the songs should be preserved as rich assets of the nation which can be cherished for generations after generations.

Happy birthday to Manoj Kumar.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Manoj Kumar on 24th July, 2016. He is almost 75 years old now. He started his career as a romantic hero, then showed his skills in the field of direction and created a separate identity as a patriotic hero. He later on earned the name of Bharat Kumar.
Harikishan Giri Goswami, better known as Manoj Kumar, was a big admirer of Tragedy King Dilip Kumar. He was obsessed with Dilip Kumar’s performance in the film Shabnam, in 1949, and kept the name of the character of the film, which was Manoj Kumar.
Although he started his career in the film Fashion in 1957, he got recognition with a lead role in the film Kaanch Ki Gudiya in 1960. Vijay Bhatt directed Hariyali Aur Raasta in 1962 changed the destiny of Manoj Kumar as a romantic hero. The songs of the film were composed by genius of genius Shankar Jaikishan, and with Mala Sinha’s assistance Manoj Kumar reached the hearts of millions of music lovers in the country. The songs in the film including “ifteda-e-ishq”, “yeh hariyali aur yeh raasta”, sung by Mukesh and Lata astonished the viewers. The film became super hit.
In the mid-60s, Manoj Kumar landmark roles in suspense thrillers like Woh Kaun Thi, 1964, and Gumnaam, 1965. Woh Kaun Thi was a horror film of Raj Khosla where Manoj Kumar played the role of the doctor who got scared with the ghostly appearance of Sadhna, who played a double role in the film. He solved the mystery in the film got Prem Chopra arrested at the end after realizing that his wife had a twin sister who was used as a ghost. The music of Madan Mohan was brilliant and Lata’s songs “naina barse rimjhim”, “lagja gale”, etc., created sensation.
Gumnaam was a murder thriller which stormed bollywood in the mid-60s. More than seven friends were given offer of going for holidays, but the flight was hijacked and the friends had to land at an island. Each of them was killed one after the other and no one knew who killed them. Manoj Kumar solved the mystery and unearthed the truth that Tarun Bose was the actual murderer. The music composed by Shankar Jaikishan was extraordinary with songs like “jane chaman shola badan” sung by Rafi and Sharda, “gumnaam hai koi” sung by Lata, “is duniya me jeena ho to”, “hum kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” sung by Mohammad Rafi, etc.
Manoj Kumar started his second innings with patriotic films like Shaheed, Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapra Aur Makaan, Kranti, moved the viewers and earned him respect. He directed of those films and got filmfare award for best director for excellent work in films like Upkaar and Roti Kapda and Makaan. His film Upkaar also received the national award for best film in 1967, and he gave life to the slogan of PM Lal Bahadur Shastri titled “jai jawan jai kisan” with Upkaar. In fact Upkaar, was the highest grosser film in 1967, surpassing all the other super hit films like Ram Aur Shyam, Jewel Thief, etc. The songs in Upkaar composed by Kalyanji Anandji were also brilliant including “mere desh ki dharti” sung by Mahendra Kapoor and “kasme wade pyar wafa sab” sung by Manna Dey. After Upkaar a big section of the crowd used to call Manoj Kumar as Bharat Kumar, as his patriotic feelings used to reflect in his creations.
His other successful films as hero also include Patthar Ke Sanam, Anita, Aadmi, etc. He acted with childhood idol Dilip Kumar in Aadmi and Kranti. The songs of most of his films were of excellent class. Naushad’s creation in Aadmi, and Rafi’s songs like “na aadmi ka khoi bharosa”, “aaj purani rahon se”, etc., had remained invalueable assets over the period of time.
The viewers expect him to continue the excellent work as a director in the years to come.

In Star Jalsa Prasenjit Chatterjee's Mahanayak serial has started. It is a biopic on mahanayak Uttam Kumar. Again, 24th July, 2016 will bring memories of Mahanayak Uttam Kumar. Superstar Uttam Kumar was remembered on his birth anniversary on 3rd September, 2015. Actor-turned-MPs Dev and Moon Moon Sen would be felicitated with the Mahanayak and Mahanayika Samman, the highest film award given by the West Bengal government.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will give the annual 'Mahanayak Uttam Kumar Samman' at Nazrul Mancha stadium tomorrow to felicitate the actors and technicians of the Bengali film industry.
On her Facebook page, Banerjee said veteran actress Mousumi Chatterjee and reigning Bengali film superstar Dev will be the recipients of this year's 'Mahanayak Samman' while Moonmoon Sen will receive the 'Mahanayika Samman'.
Both Dev and Sen had won the recent Lok Sabha polls on a Trinamool ticket.
The awards were instituted in the year 2012 in the memory of the legendary actor 'Mahanayak' Uttam Kumar.
Actor-director-producer Arindam Sil will be conferred with Special Film Award (Acting).
Special Film Awards will also be presented to actors like Paoli Dam, Hiran Chatterjee, Abir Chatterjee, Indranil Sengupta, Kharaj Mukherjee, Rudranil Ghosh and others.
Veterans of Bengali film industry like Chiranjeet Chakraborty, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Mamata Shankar and Debashree Roy will be feted with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Veteran playback artiste Kumar Sanu will be felicitated with Lifetime Achievement Award for Music (playback Singer) while Special Film Awards (Music Director) will be presented to Sivaji Chattopadhyay, Arundhati Home Chowdhury and Adhir Chatterjee.
Nispal Rane on behalf of Surinder Films will get Special Film award for the best producer. Special film award for direction will be given to Swapan Saha, Kamaleshwar Mukherjee and Prodipto Bhattacharyya. 50 actors had been awarded the Mahanayak Uttam Kumar award on his death anniversary on 24th July, 2013. Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee had started the awards in the memory of the greatest superstar of Bengal Mahanayak Uttam Kumar. Madhabi Mukherjee, Dipankar Dey, Ranjit Mullick and Sandhya Roy had been given lifetime achievement award. Incidentally Madhabi Mukherjee had acted in many super hit films of Uttam Kumar like Shankhabela, Choddobeshi, Agnisshar, etc. and Sandhya Roy had acted in many hit films of Uttam Kumar like Mayamrigo, Surjotapa. Director Goutam Ghosh had also been granted lifetime achievement award.
Actors Partho Mukherjee, Chinmoy Roy, directors Sandip Ray, Raj Chakravarty, Sujit Saha, Koushik Ganguly and Srijit Mukherjee are given special awards. Actors Tapas Pal and Prasenjit Chatterjee are given Mahanayak Samman. Actors Saswata Chatterjee and Parambrata Chatterjee are given special awards. Film Producing companies are also awarded and felicitated including RD Bansal and Company, Arora Films, Shri Venkatesh films, New Theatres, to name a few.
He had died almost 33 years ago, yet the viewers had not forgotten his films and still his presence is felt in the life bengalies in different parts of the world.
In 2011 the Governer of West Bengal launched the 50 rupees postal stamp having the engraving of Uttam Kumar in it. Previously Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar’s faces were engraved in Postal stamps for remembering their contribution to Indian cinema.
Last year, Mamta Banerjee, the Union Railway Minister, renamed the Tollygunge Metro Station as Mahanayak Uttam Kumar station. In 2011, the walls of the Tollygunge Metro Station had been filled with the pictures of films of Uttam Kumar. In fact the people of Tollygunge cannot associate the place without the existence of Uttam Kumar whose works glorified the different studios which carried on the legacy of Bengali Film Industry. Mamta Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal had also provided support to revive the Uttam Mancha and take care of Shilpi Sangsad, an organization created by Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to help the needy actors, actresses, technicians, etc.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The country will remember Shammi Kapoor for immense contribution in bollywood films.
Rebel Star Shammi Kapoor is remembered on 14th August, 2015, his death anniversary, for his immense contribution to Bollywood films. On 14th August, 2011, veteran actor Shammi Kapoor, passed away. He was 79 years old. The country had become sad due to his demise. He brought a new wave in Indian films with powerful performances in films like Tumsa Nahi Dekha, Dil Deke Dekho, Junglee, Janwar and other films. He used to be called Rebel Star and the Indian Elvis Priestley.
One thing for which viewers used to be mad to see his films during 60s used to be the everlasting music in the films and brilliance of Mohammad Rafi in those songs. Rafi had sung 341 songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan during his illustrious career with 216 solos. Very significantly 3 of the filmfare awards that Rafi received during 60s had been composed by Shankar Jaikishan. They included “teri pyari pyari surat ko kiski nazar na lage” from the film Sasural, “baharon phool barsao” from the film Suraj and “dilke jharoke me mujhko bithaker” from the film Brahmchari.
But in the list of songs sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, at least half of the total sungs were composed for Shammi Kapoor. Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan worked together for around 22 films, most of which did great business in the 60s.
If Rafi’s songs sung for Shammi Kapoor are remembered for the loud music and melo-dramatic dance numbers, there were lot of songs which were ever romantic and touched the hearts of the viewers. In the film Junglee, Rafi’s songs “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” and “meri yaar shabba khair” had very melodious appeal and the sweetness of Rafi haunted the listeners for years.
In Shammi Kapoor’s Professor, the songs “awaz deke hume tum bulayo”, “mai chali mai chali”, probably had set the mood of the film. From that time Rafi, Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan created magic in one film after the other. In Raj Kumar, Rafi’s soft numbers for Shammi Kapoor like “yeh rang badalti duniya me”, “tumne kisiki jaan ko jate hue dekha hai” made the viewers speechless.
Even the western numbers of Shankar Jaikishan for Rafi stole the hearts in the 60s. In the film Janwar, Rafi’s number “meri muhabbat jawan rahegi” and “humko hai tumse pyar” had been the most romantic songs in the film, where the landscape of Kashmir and Rafi’s melodious voice complimented each other. In the film An Evening in Paris, Rafi’s songs “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho” and “raat ke humsafar” were the most romantic numbers which were more melodious than the loud numbers which equally became hits.
In Shammi Kapoor’s Brahmachari, probably the best songs included “mai gayun tum so jayo” and “dil ke jharoke mai”. “mai gayun tum so jayo” was sung twice by Rafi in the film, one with a even slower rhythm. Shankar Jaikishan’s background music was as brilliant as Rafi’s singing style for Shammi Kapoor. In the film Tumse Accha Kaun Hai, Rafi’s soft number “janam janam ka saath hai” had remained evergreen and melodious for years. In Latt Sahab, Rafi’s romantic number with Asha Bhosle titled “aye chaand zara ruk ja” haunted the listeners for years after years. Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan combined together in other films of Shammi Kapoor like Prince, Buttameez, Laat Sahab, Ujala, Chote Sarkar, Hong Kong, etc. There were many more romantic numbers of Rafi sung for Shammi Kapoor, which cannot be covered in a small article.
In Shammi Kapoor’s Jawan Muhabbat, the song “jawan muhabbat jahan jahan hai” was very romantic. The last film where Shankar and Jaikishan worked together for Shammi Kapoor included Andaz. The songs “dil use do jo jaan de de” and “re mamma re mamma re” were brilliant both in form and orchestration. It was very unfortunate that Jaikishan died in 1971,and after that Shammi Kapoor also added weight and switched to character roles in films like Zameer, Parvarish, etc. The magical combination of Shankar Jaikishan, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi ended and the era of romantic songs also suffered a set back.
Some section of listeners argue that Rajender Kumar probably received the more romantic numbers sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, but Shammi Kapoor’s combination with Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was phenomenal which swept the youth and took them to a different inspite of Shammi Kapoor being called a rebel star and Shankar Jaikishan providing the most loud bomblastic numbers for Rafi.
The songs and the films of the legendary combination of Shammi Kapoor, Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan should be preserved.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Remembering Mohammad Rafi on his death anniversary.
The listeners of music all over the world remember the all-time great singer Mohammad Rafi on 31st July, 2016. The noble soul had left his admirers 35 years ago. Yet he is alive in numerous everlasting hit songs which are heard and cherished for generations.
The Poll in History TV relating to 100 years of Indian cinema was erroneous. Mohammad Rafi got the maximum amount of votes yet he was adjudicated as best singer jointly with Kishore Kumar. Firstly those admirers of Mohammad Rafi who had listened to his great songs in the 1940s and 1950s, may not have voted at all, because many of them were not computer-friendly. Otherwise he would have received 10 crores votes more from across the world. The bigger factor is the musical giants in the form of composers of 1940s, 1950s and 1960s had expired. So the view of Naushad Ali, or Shankar Jaikishan, or Madanmohan Kohli or Roshanlal Nagrath or OP Nayyar had not been taken. Neither the view of lyricists Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Shailendra and others were taken. All of them would have unimously said Mohammad Rafi was the greatest singer ever to have graced Indian soil.
A Mohammad Rafi Musical Academy should be opened in Mumbai. The aim and objective of the Academy should be to train singers in the art of playback singing. The way Pune Film and Development Institute had created acting talents like Om Puri, Shabana Azmi and others, in the same way Mohammad Rafi Academy and appoint singers of repute from different parts of the world to train young singers in the art of playback singing.
Mohammad Rafi had been the greatest playback singer ever to have been graced the Indian soil. No other singer can even imagine about visualizing the emotions of Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, Pradip Kumar, Johnny Walker, all together in the same voice. After bringing about the acting quotients of the legendary actors Mohammad Rafi went one step further to fulfill the requirements of the best composers of the country like Naushad Ali, Shankar Jaikishan, Ghulam Mohammad, Roshan Lal Nagrath, Madanmohan Kohli, OP Nayyar, to name a few, and the greatest lyricists like Shakeel Badayani, Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra, Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, and others. Rafi’s 26000 songs are invaluable musical treasure by listening to which any singer can improve his style of singing.
It is a huge question as to how can the singing parameters of Mohammad Rafi can be instilled in the new singers, because playback singing cannot be grammatically taught. But at least the new singers can be trained in classical singing, ghazals, qawallies and may be western style of singing also. The biggest thing is they can be made to listen to Rafi’s singing different types of songs. Few of the Indian classical singers like Suresh Wadkar, Yesu Das, Hariharan, can be few names who can regularly give training to new singers.
One big requirement for the present generation is to actually listen to the wide range of songs Mohammad Rafi had sung including the non-filmi albums. With the media shifting focus towards the new generation music of modern day giants like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mohit Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, there is every possible chance of Rafi’s works not gaining media attention as majority of the works were during 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. The young generations hardly know the grand compositions of Naushad Ali, or Shankar Jaikishan; nor the urdu-based poetry of Raja Mehendi Ali Khan or Sahir Ludhiyanvi. So the great works of Mohammad Rafi’s generation require very strong publicity and restoration. By better knowing Mohammad Rafi’s works, Indian music can be improved, because no other playback singer in India had given adequate expression to folk songs, pure classical songs, bhajans, rock and roll songs, soft music, ghazals and other forms of Indian music the way Mohammad Rafi had done over a span of 35 years.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Dimple Kapadia on 8th June, 2016. She had been considered as one of the most dynamic actresses of bollywood films after Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil.
She started her career with a bold, sizzling demeanor in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby in 1973 opposite Rishi Kapoor. Raj Kapoor introduced the concept of teenage romance in the 70s and his effort got justice due to brilliant performance of both Dimple and Rishi Kapoor. Dimple’s smart, dashing lips in the songs “hum tum ek kamre me bandh ho”, “jhoot bole kowa kate”, “mujhe kuch kehna hai” sung by Lata and composed by LP just flabbergasted the audience of the 70s. Viewers thought both Dimple and Rishi Kapoor were made for each other.
But after Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia, he stopped her acting, and bollywood films lost one of the most promising actresses for 13 years. Again she made a classic comeback in Ramesh Sippy’s Saagar. The film showed a triangular love story with Kamal Hassan and Rishi Kapoor. The brilliant locations, powerful music composed by RD Burman, all contributed for the success of the super hit film. Rishi Kapoor was always considered to be the most romantic actors produced by Indian films. He proved it again in Saagar. Dimple balanced the sacrificing performance of Kamal Hassan who died at the end of the film to save Rishi Kapoor and allow Dimple marry her. All the three performers were brilliant in the lips given in the songs “o maria”, “saagar kinare”, “yeh to bata tera naam kya”, etc., sung by Lata, Bal Subhramanium, Kishore Kumar, etc.
In the mid -80s, Dimple acted in most of the successful commercial films opposite leading stars like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol, etc. She was brilliant in Feroz Khan’s Jaanbaaz. In fact her smart performance balanced the cowboy image of Anil Kapoor in the film. She was sublime opposite Jackie Shroff in the film Kaash.
In the late 80s, producers and directors experimented with her in challenging roles. She was exceptional in Gulzar’s film Lekin. Lata’s songs “yara silli silli”, Suresh Watkar’s “surmai sham” composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar were landmarks of classical music in Indian films. Dimple Kapadia portrayed the character of rajasthani folk community who were used for crying in funerals in the film Rudaali. She played the role of her lifetime and got national and international awards. Her lips in Lata’s song “dil hum hum kare” composed by Bhupen Hazarika, still haunts the listeners 20 years after its creation.
Her other successful films include Ram Lakhan, opposite Jackie Shroff, Krantiveer and Prahar opposite Nana Patekar. Her performance in the off-beat films gave her a special place just like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil. Even in her middle-age she amazed viewers with brilliant performance in the film Dil Chahta Hai opposite Akshay Khanna who was at least 15 years younger than her. She again amazed the viewers in character roles opposite Rishi Kapoor in the films Pyar Me Twist and Farhan Akhtar’s Luck By Chance. Whenever she acted opposite Rishi Kapoor she always did a great job.
In 2010, her film Tum Milo Toh Sahi had addressed the concerns for the middle-aged couples and bachelors in Mumbai. Her performance was as brilliant as that of Nana Patekar in the film. The viewers expect her to continue the brilliant work in the future and go on astonishing the viewers with dynamic performances like before.

Happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shilpa Shetty on 8th June, 2016. She had maintained her romantic image and brilliant figure for over 15 years. She had remained indispensable for the last 15 years.
Starting her journey with Shahrukh Khan in the film Baazigaar, in the early 90s, she had acted in different types of films. She acted in romantic films like Dhadkan opposite Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty. The film had successful songs like “tum dil ki dhadkan me”. She also acted in action thrillers like Prithvi, opposite Sunil Shetty.
She was also sublime in off-beat films like Tarqueib. Nana Patekar played the role of the crime-investigator in the film. She was the friend of Tabu, the girl killed in the film. She also had speaking terms with Ashutosh Rana who was initially suspected to have murdered Tabu. Nana Patekar at the end of the film found out the murderer. But Shilpa Shetty showed her acting skills while relying to interrogation of Nana Patekar in the film.
Her performance in the film Auzaar opposite Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor, also require special mention. Salman Khan was a CBI investigator in the film and was given the task of investigation the unlawful business affairs of Sanjay Kapoor. In fact the underworld involvement of Paresh Rawal, the father of Sanjay Kapoor was at issue. Shilpa Shetty bridged the gap between Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor, after Salman convinced her that he concealed his identity for the benefit of Sanjay Kapoor, his friend. Shilpa gave brilliant lips and danced well in the songs “oye oye oye oyeoye”, and other songs composed by Anu Malik.
Shilpa Shetty had shown her comedy instincts in a number of films like Chor Machaye Shor. She played the role of the daughter of Paresh Rawal, and got attached with Bobby Deol, who was a subordinate of Paresh Rawal. He pretended to be twin brother, one having a moustache, the other without a moustache. In that comedy drama, Shilpa Shetty should her innocence and comedy instinct along with Bipasha Basu, who also played a significant role in the film.
Even at her middle age she had shown dance numbers which could have made young actresses envious about her. For example, in Dostana, released in 2008, she performed in a dance number opposite John Abraham, which amazed the viewers. After marrying Raj Kundra she had reduced signing in as many number of films as she used to do earlier. She also had bought major share of Rajasthan Royals team which played IPL cricket in 2010. In 2011 her team Rajasthan Royals did not fare well in IPL, so she should concentrate in films. In 2013, she had been accused of being part of match-fixing scandal. Both her husband Mr. Kundra and herself faced charges of match fixing. She should act in more films. She should be followed by the new generation of actresses who want to stay fit and contribute in bollywood films for more than 20 years.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Erroneous marking led to defeat of Debjani and Koli in Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program.
The Zee Bangla Mirakkel Program has been a mockery. A big mockery because amongs the judges other than Paran Banerjee, the rest are not known as big comedians.
Neither Rajatavo Dutta acted in comedy roles, nor Srilekha Mitra is known for excellent comedy acting. The artists who themselves don’t have that gifted art how can they mark the participants.
In the program few performers are shown partiality like Utpal Ghosh and Hridoy. They come with the same style, half of their jokes don’t make anyone laugh. Yet they had gone to the finals. Pavel’s case is even worst, neither he has any innovative style of innovation.
The few participants who come with innovation included Babin and Pritam and Koli and Debjani. Both these groups came with different roles on different episodes. Yesterday Debjani came as grandson of Gabbar singh while Koli as granddaughter of Vasanti. Yet they were eliminated.
Few weeks ago Babin and Pritam did a splendid act on the subject of kites. They were also eliminated. Only the group Biswajeet and Shantanu are innovative. The rest have the same style and backing of Rajatavo Dutta and Srilekha Mitra.
The actor who had performed the best ever included Apurbo Roy. These same judges Rajatavo Dutta and Srilekha Mitra gave wrong marks to have him third. He is acting in films now. The backed candidate Abu Henna Ronnie is hardly seen in Bangladeshi films.
There is high time, judges should be changed. Mirakkel is losing popularity for over level of partiality.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Happy birthday to Sanjay Dutt.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Sanjay Dutt on 29th July, 2016. For the last 30 years, Sanjay Dutt remained one of the actors who had a very steady box-office. It was very sad that he had again gone for 3 and half years imprisonment relating to the TADA case. It is a loss for the film industry. For the next 2 years also he will be in prison. His film Policegiri had been released in 2014 and did not do great business.
2012 had been an excellent year for Sanjay Dutt. He acted in the film Agneepath in a negative character opposite Hrithik Roshan. The film did business of more than 120 crores. The bigger achievement is that Sanjay Dutt’ s performance had been appreciated equally as that of Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik Roshan played the same character which Amitabh Bacchan had played in the first version of film Agneepath. It was a big challenge for both Sanjay Dutt and Hrithik Roshan but both the actors were outstanding.
While his first film Rocky was successful in the early 80s, he struggled to create a name till his film Naam with Kumar Gaurav struck box-office. He did undergo a makeover and from the late 80s, his long hair and muscular body changed his career. His performance in the role of a handicapped poet in the film Saajan opposite Madhuri Dixit was well appreciated. The film ended up being blockbuster with hit songs like “mera dil bhi kitna paagal hai”.
Sanjay Dutt’s action films always created an impact in the minds of the viewers. The hit films included Sadak, Khalnayak, Daag –The Fire, etc. He received the filmfare award for the best actor for his performance in the film Vaastav.
Sanjay Dutt and Vidya Balan formed one type of such an unique pair who had been accepted by the viewers of bollywood films. Sanjay Dutt got the scope of performing opposite Vidya Balan at middle-age as opposed to his performance opposite Madhuri Dixit in during his young age in films like Thanedaar, Saajan, Khalnayak, etc.
In Pradeep Sarkar’s Parineeta, Sanjay Dutt’s role was based on the character of a middle aged person who was considerate about the family of Parineeta. Although Vidya Balan was attached with Saif Ali Khan according to the classic literature of Sarat Chandra Chatterji, Sanjay Dutt’s contribution was even greater in the film than Saif Ali Khan. All the songs in the film composed by Shantanu Moitra ended up being super hit, including Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal’s song “piyu bole”.
Lage Raho Munnabhai was probably the greatest hit film of Sanjay Dutt in his entire career. He was a bhai ( underworld don) who pretended to be a Professor and impressed Vidya Balan who was attached to an old-age home. He impressed her with his knowledge on Gandhiji. Mahatma Gandhi’s soul instructed Sanjay Dutt to follow his path related to ahimsa.
The romance in the film was related to matured level of understanding. Sonu Nigam’s song “pal pal pal pal pal pal”, was a landmark hit. After that song Vidya Balan slapped Sanjay Dutt after reading the letter where he mentioned that he was not a Professor. The film with Vidya Balan forgiving Sanjay Dutt for the lies he said to her.
In 2011, Sanjay Dutt’s film Double Dhamaal did mediocre business. But the positive reviews that were received in the film were about Sanjay Dutt, Kangana Ranaut and Mallika Sherawat. 2011 has a lot in store for Sanjay Dutt. The films which had been released in 2011 and 2012 include Rascals, Agneepath, Chatur Singh Two Star, Power and Koochi Koochi Hota Hai.
The viewers are looking forward to more films of Vidya Balan with Sanjay Dutt, as the pair had shown matured level of performance which touched the hearts of millions of viewers all across the world. Sanjay Dutt these days had restricted himself in acting in action films, so if he signs romantic films, the producers and directors should think about Vidya Balan who suits him better than any other actress of bollywood industry. Viewers are expecting him to return from prison after 3 years and get back to films.

Uttam Kumar’s death anniversary brings great memories of the superstar of Bengal.
Again, 24th July, 2016 will bring memories of Mahanayak Uttam Kumar.In 2011, the walls of the Tollygunge Metro Station had been filled with the pictures of films of Uttam Kumar. In fact the people of Tollygunge cannot associate the place without the existence of Uttam Kumar whose works glorified the different studios which carried on the legacy of Bengali Film Industry. Mamta Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal had also provided support to revive the Uttam Mancha and take care of Shilpi Sangsad, an organization created by Mahanayak Uttam Kumar to help the needy actors, actresses, technicians, etc.
Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray acknowledged the dynamic presence of the legendary superstar in Bengali films and made a film Nayak in 1966 based on the story of Uttam Kumar. His original name was Arun Kumar Chatterji, who was a clerk in Port Commission before joining Bengali films.
When he joined films with Drishtidaan in 1948, he had to struggle to create his image as against he established heroes like Asit Boron, Bikash Roy and others. In 1952, his film Basu Paribar struck at the box-office and he overtook Bosonto Choudhury, Asit Boron and became the leading superstar of Bengali films. All the qualities of a romantic hero was possessed by him, including a standard height, good complexion, manly voice, romantic hairstyle and unique dialogue delivery. Any dress suited the legendary superstar including Punjabi, dhoti, coat, Bengali dresses, etc.
He had acted in the films of all the legendary directors of the golden age including Satyajit Ray’s Nayak in 1966, Chiriakhana in 1967, Tapan Sinha’s Jhinder Bandi in 1961, Upahaar in 1955 and Jotugriha in 1964, Ajoy Kar’s Harano Sur in 1957, Saptapadi in 1961, Suno Bara Nari in 1960, Agradoot’s Bipasha in 1962, Surjo Toron in 1958, Agragami’s Sagarika in 1956, Shonkhobela in 1966, to name a few. Uttam Kumar acted opposite all the leading actresses of Bengali celluloid including Suchitra Sen, Arundhuti Debi, Manju Dey, Sabitri Chatterji, Supriya Choudhury, Mala Sinha, and others. His combination with Suchitra Sen had given everlasting classics and both of them still remains the most romantic pair in Indian silver screen.
Uttam Kumar’s films were based on rich literature including Tagore’s Khokababur Protyaborton, Subodh Ghosh’s Suno Bara Nari, Samaresh Bose’s Kuhak, Sorodindu Bondhopadyay’s Chiriakhana, Shankar’s Chourangi. The films were related to different types of stories including comedy stories, tragic stories, soft romantic stories, etc.
Uttam Kumar had acted in around 205 films (including bollywood films like Amanush, Anand Ashram, Choti Si Mulakat, Dooriyan, Kitaab etc., ) in a span of 35 years, and all his films had remained everlasting treasures. Out of his 205 films, around 37 of them ended up being blockbusters, around 50 were super hit films and around 50 were hit films. Actor Shatrughun Sinha in his interview before Bengali media had disclosed that when he was working in Pune Film and Television Institute, the graduates had unanimous view that Uttam Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar were the greatest superstars of celluloid and had Uttam Kumar acted in more number of bollywood films, he would have remained as great a legend as Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor.
Even the singers who had sung for him including Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, Hemanta Mukherjee, Manobendra Mukherjee, etc., agreed that they did not find any actor who was parallel to Uttam Kumar in giving lips in songs. He made the viewers feel that he only sang the songs.
Actor Shatrughun Sinha in his interview had said that during his student life in Pune Film and Television Institute, the upcoming actors used to debate about the charishma of Uttam Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. Although there was no unanimity about the finest actor among them, there was consensus about one fact had Uttam Kumar established himself in bollywood films by acting in more number of films, he would have been equally an international figure like Raj Kapoor or Dilip Kumar.
Articles after articles can be devoted to Uttam Kumar who was one –man –industry in Bengali films. His films should be revisited to create motivation for making better quality films in future.

Happy birthday to Sonu Nigam.
The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to popular Singer Sonu Nigam on 30th July, 2016. In 2013, Sonu Nigam won the best singer award in Zee Cine Awards 2013. The award was given for his famous song “abhi mujh me kahin” sung in the film Agneepath. He won the Mirchi award and Toifa award also for the same song. His mother came in the Indian idol show on 30th July, 2011, and Sonu Nigam showed his respect for the mother on his birthday. He dedicated a song to his idol Mohammad Rafi who had died on 31st July, 1980.
Sonu Nigam in a recent interview given in Anandabazar Patrika and published on 23rd July, 2011, had said that the Indian composers these days hardly call him to sing songs. If there is truth in the statement it is very sad. He said that although he had sung songs in the international platform along with Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson, he had very few songs in the year 2011. He said that many composers are singing the songs in bollywood films themselves. He did not point his finger at Shankar Mahadevan, as he agreed himself that Shankar, the composer of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy combination, had learned Karnatic classical and always had sung well. But those composers who did not have that amount of trained voice, for singing in shows are rarely using the veteran singers. He said that it is a blessing that there are very few female composers in the industry, otherwise the domination of Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chouhan and others would have got shaken up.
In 2010, he had his romantic voice felt in the film Milenge Milenge, where his song picturized on Shahid Kapoor was well accepted by the viewers. He was also brilliant in the song “tu ne to pal bhar me chori kiya re jiya” along with Shreya Ghoshal in the film Dabaang, composed by Sajid Wajid.
Sonu Nigam had brilliant combination a number of leading composers of bollywood over the last 10 years. Sonu Nigam was associated with Anu Malik as some of his best romantic numbers were composed by him including “hume jab se mohabbat ho gayi hai”, in the film Border, or “sau dard hai” in the film Jaaneman. He was also associated with Sajid Wajid, as most of his romantic numbers like “tumko bhula na payega” from the film Tumko Bhula Na Payenge, or “mujhse shaadi karogi” in the film Mujshe Shaadi Karoge. In 2010, both of them featured together in the film Veer. Although the film did moderate business, the songs became hits.
But Sonu Nigam sang very landmark songs under the composition of Shantanu Moitra in critically acclaimed films. The films included Parineeta, Lage Raho Munnabhai, The Three Idiots, etc. Parineeta was directed by Pradeep Sarkar and was probably the first launching pad of actress Vidya Balan. Sonu Nigam’s duet song with Shreya Ghoshal namely “piyu bole piya bole” composed by Shantanu Moitra maintained the flavor of Rabindrasangeet with a background of Kolkata during the time of writer Sarat Chandra Chatterji. Also the song “yeh hawaye gungunaye” was equally impressive.
In the film Lage Raho Munnabhai, Shantanu Moitra, maintained both the bhai-like mastani flavor as well as the soft romantic mood. Sonu Nigam’s song “pal pal pal pal pal pal har pal” was probably the most romantic song of the film. The other songs like “lage raho munnabhai” did bear a different andaz. If the acting of Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani and Vidya Balan was impressive, the music was equally instrumental in the success of the film.
The Three Idiots had shown the loopholes of India’s higher education system. The songs composed by Shantanu Moitra had the message of the director Raj Kumar Hirani. Sonu Nigam and others in the film sung the theme song “all is well” a number of times in the film. The other song “zubi zubi” sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal was also very fast and melodious. If the acting of Amir Khan, R. Mahadevan and Sharman Joshi had impressed the viewers, the music had made them spellbound.
The audience expect Sonu Nigam to provide more number of romantic numbers in future, even in films made under any other banner in addition to the banner of Vidhu Vinod Chopra or direction of Raj Kumar Hirani.

Dr. Souvik Chatterji

Master of Law from Warwick University, Coventry,UK

Received Doctorate Degree in Philosophy of law from National Law University, Jodhpur after submitting PhD Thesis in Law in National Law University, Jodhpur on the topic “Treatment of Cartels in India and USA”.